Portsmouth woman pleads to gun charges, faces 20 years, $1M fine

Thursday

Jan 30, 2014 at 2:00 AM

PORTSMOUTH — A former Maplewood Avenue resident has pleaded guilty to federal gun trafficking charges, admitting she bought eight guns online, had them shipped to a licensed Greenland firearms dealer, then illegally sold them for a profit to buyers in Thailand.

Elizabeth Dinan

PORTSMOUTH — A former Maplewood Avenue resident has pleaded guilty to federal gun trafficking charges, admitting she bought eight guns online, had them shipped to a licensed Greenland firearms dealer, then illegally sold them for a profit to buyers in Thailand.

Nutveena Sirirojnananont, who formerly lived in a 399 Maplewood Ave. apartment, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court of New Hampshire on Monday to federal gun trafficking and export charges, according to U.S. Attorney John Kacavas. Her convictions are for charges that include conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act, making a false statement in connection with a firearm purchase and unlicensed firearms dealing, Kacavas announced.

The convictions carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1 million.

According to a federal plea agreement, Sirirojnananont admits to buying eight handguns, as well as three semi-automatic lower receivers for a 5.56 rifle, through an online dealer. She then had the weapons and rifle accessories shipped to Suds N Soda Sports of Greenland, which is a federally licensed firearms dealer, according to authorities.

During an investigation, federal agents learned Sirirojnananont had also been operating an export business shipping "beauty supplies" and "fashion items" through online businesses named Nutveena LLC and PookyWookyShop, according to court records.

Following an investigation of sales records at Suds N Soda Sports, Sirirojnananont was interviewed and admitted selling the guns to two men in Thailand without a license to do so, court records state. She also confessed to shipping ammunition and gun parts for M-16 assault-style rifles, the plea agreement states.

Sirirojnananont also confessed to lying on federal firearms transfer records and admitted she was buying and selling the guns and parts for a 15 percent profit over her costs. The sales occurred between August 2010 and September 2011, according to court records.

Sirirojnananont told authorities she was contacted through one of her fashion Web sites by the Thai gun buyers, admitted she was aware of export laws and that she did not have the necessary federal license to export arms overseas. The guns were shipped in locked boxes to "go-betweens" in New York or California, according to court records.

Federal authorities seized "six large boxes containing 21 cases of ammunition" and two gun magazines from her basement, according to court records.

Also seized were two guns on hold for her at Suds N Soda Sports, authorities allege.

"The federal regulations involving the sale and export of firearms are specifically designed to prevent guns and other weapons from falling into the wrong hands," according to a statement by Bruce Foucart, special agent in charge for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations in Boston. "This case clearly demonstrates that we are allied with our federal and local law enforcement partners, including the men and women of the ATF and Portsmouth Police Department. Together, we will continue to target those who attempt to profit by circumventing these laws."

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